You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. – Deuteronomy 28:6

Today's Scripture Reading (March 16, 2025): Deuteronomy 28

The Covid-19 pandemic gave fruitful ground for many conspiracy theories. In defense of these theories, a lot of the early beliefs about the pandemic were confusing. Some have argued that the officials during that time lied to us, but that seems unlikely. The reality was that they were acting on incomplete knowledge. Their advice changed over time because they began to understand the virus better, just as they should have. There is no doubt that many mistakes were made, and the only way forward is not to blame each other for those wrong turns but to forgive those on the other side.

There were a few things that helped fuel the conspiracy theories. One is simply the infrequency of pandemics. Pandemics come around about every hundred years. Regardless of what some people might think, we knew this one was coming. This foreknowledge highlighted another problem that helped the conspiracy theorists; we had had a few missteps in recent years. Viruses we thought were the expected pandemic proved not to be. However, those false steps proved to be fatal mistakes for some who came to believe that Covid-19 was just another false step. 

However, Covid-19 proved to be the real thing. And all of these conditions caused rumors and false beliefs to multiply. Some still believe in these false teachings. I am thankful for even the conflicting advice released during the pandemic. I think I am alive because of the abundance of caution health officials gave about the pandemic. 

One of the more damaging conspiracy theories concerned the mRNA vaccine. The vaccine still produces intense feelings of disdain from many people. Many wonder how we developed the vaccine in such a short time. The truth is that we had the general structure of the vaccine long before the pandemic struck. It was new technology simply waiting for a virus against which we could test it. The vaccine performed just as the experts hoped it would, likely a result of more than just a little luck.

The mRNA vaccine was new. And some misunderstood what it did. Some came to believe that the mRNA vaccine changed our DNA. These people argued that because of the change in DNA, people who received the vaccine were no longer human. And because we are no longer human, the blood of Christ no longer saves us. Some still maintain that if you have taken an mRNA vaccine, then you are a sinner, and the sacrifice of Jesus no longer covers your life. 

For those who believe this, I have some good news if you will receive it from me. First, the mRNA vaccine did nothing to your DNA. However, even if it did, Jesus still died for you. I love the closing words of the story of Jonah. It is the voice of God that closes out the story. Listen to what he says. 

But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals" (Jonah 4:10-11)?

Not only does God care about the people living in Nineveh, but his concern extends to the animals living in the city or those with less than human DNA. But maybe even more critical is this promise in Deuteronomy. "You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out" (Deuteronomy 28:6). Don't take this promise lightly because the phrase "when you come in and blessed when you go out" covers every action that we could take as humans. We need to take the Apostle Paul's words to heart because not even a vaccine can separate us from God's plan of redemption for us.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37-39).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 29